Nail guide and methodology of use

ABSTRACT

One possible embodiment of the invention could be a fingernail guide comprising of a body formed into a open-ring shape having a guide portion, a pair of trapezoidal-shaped wings, and a grip portion; the guide portion having the front guide edge and a back concave curved edge, the two edges meeting one another to respectively form two side ends; each of the trapezoidal-shaped wings being attached to respective side end to project downward from the guide portion; the grip portion being a circular plate perpendicularly attached to back concave curved edge and projecting upward from the guide portion; wherein the fingernail guide is placed upon a finger to cover a portion of a manicured fingernail so that the front guide edge faces the tip of the nail; the back concave curved edge is proximate to the cuticle; and the wings straddle the sides of the finger.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED Research or Development

Not applicable

REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX”

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention may relate to fingernail guides. More specifically, the present invention may relate to fingernail guides used in applying manicures to fingernails.

BACKGROUND

The aesthetics of finely groomed and manicured fingernails is appreciated by many segments of society. One well-liked fingernail manicure is a polychromatic or French manicure wherein the tip of the nail receives one color while the base of nail receives one or more different colors (or a clear coat.) The colors of this manicure may be colored polymer coatings. To create the polymer coating, the manicure technician may dip a brush into the monomer liquid and then may dip the brush into colored monomer powder to form the color polymer coating. The technician may then use a brush to apply the polymer coating, which has a mud-like consistency, onto the fingernail surface (and/or nail extension affixed to the fingernail).

The key to this type of manicure is that the interface or meeting of the two or more different polymer coatings that substantially presents a curved border (e.g., demarcation curve) located proximate to the edge of the finger. To provide an aesthetically pleasing demarcation curve, which can be very hard to hand apply using just a brush, many manicure technicians after applying a polymer coating may use a curved-edge instrument (sometimes, using the curved edge of a spare nail extension) to scrape away an excess portion of the applied polymer coating to create the desired demarcation curve.

A second color polymer coating may be applied to remaining exposed portion of the nail (or nail/nail extension combination) and generally covers the remainder of the fingernail up to the demarcation curve. Once applied to the fingernail, the multiple polymer coatings are substantially dried (as activated by a UV-light, or the evaporation of a solvent common to the polymers). The dried polymer coatings can then be polished or a clear coat polymer may be applied over the previous polymer coatings and subsequently dried and polished to present the final manicure.

Once the polychromatic manicure is established, normal fingernail outgrowth generally moves the demarcation curve further away from the cuticle as new fingernail growth occurs at base of the fingernail/cuticle. This new fingernail growth is also noticeable in that it is not covered by any of the previously-applied polymer coatings. To remedy this occurrence, and reestablish the original location of the demarcation curve, the manicure technician may first re-cuts or grinds down the tip of fingernail/applied nail extension to its original position relative to the tip of the finger. The technician may then use a grinding means, such as a powered-rotary drill with a grinding bit, to grind down the previously-applied polymer coatings of the nail/nail extension so that new polymer coatings may be applied to reestablish the manicure and its demarcation curve at its original position on the fingernail. Generally, the grinding down of the original polymer coatings reduces the thickness of the original manicure to substantially allow an application of new polymer coatings to be applied over the original manicure without significantly increasing the thickness of refinished polychromatic manicure from that of the original manicure.

The step of grinding down the entire surface of the original polymer coatings needs to be done with care and skill by the manicure technician so that the grinding bit does not run across the flesh/skin portion of the customer's finger to abrade or otherwise cut it. The technician then reapplies the various polymer coatings to recreate the entire manicure. This step of re-establishing the polychromatic manicure not only takes time and skill to accomplish, but may result in addition costs that can make such re-establishment manicure procedure more expensive than the application of the original manicure. What is needed therefore is a re-establishment manicure methodology and an accompanying apparatus used in conjunction with a grinding means to remove only those portions of the previously-applied polymer coatings needed to re-establish the original position of the polychromatic manicure's demarcation curve between the different polymer coatings.

SUMMARY OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Advantages of One or More Embodiments of the Present Invention

The various embodiments of the present invention may, but do not necessarily, achieve one or more of the following advantages:

the ability to re-establish a manicure demarcation curve advanced out of its original position by new nail growth without grinding down all the polymer coatings previously laid down in the original manicure;

to provide a fingernail guide used to grind out of small portion of the polymer coatings previously laid down on the finger nail to re-establish the demarcation curve;

the ability to grasp and twist a fingernail guide into proper alignment on a fingernail;

to provide a finger nail guide through which the location of the cuticle may be observed to properly locate the edge of the nail guide used to guide the movement of a grinding means;

to provide to set of different-sized fingernail guides to accommodate a wide variety of different sized and shaped fingers and fingernails;

the ability to cover and protect the flesh portions of the finger while grinding down previously-applied fingernail polymer coatings to reestablish a demarcation curve; and

to provide a means to see through the nail guide and observe the position of the cuticle relative to the nail guide when the cuticle is otherwise covered by the guide;

the ability to have the nail guide accommodate the difference in height between the nail portion and cuticle/flesh portion of the finger;

to provide a place to rest the operators fingers when grasping the guide; and

the ability to reduce the expense of re-establishing demarcation curve for a polychromatic manicure.

These and other advantages may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification, claims, and abstract.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

One possible embodiment of the invention could be a fingernail guide comprising of a body formed into a open-ring shape having a guide portion, a pair of trapezoidal-shaped wings, and a grip portion; the guide portion having the front guide edge and a back concave curved edge, the two edges meeting one another to respectively form two side ends; each of the trapezoidal-shaped wings being attached to respective side end to project downward from the guide portion; the grip portion being a circular plate perpendicularly attached to back concave curved edge and projecting upward from the guide portion; wherein the fingernail guide is placed upon a finger to cover a portion of a manicured fingernail so that the front guide edge faces the tip of the nail; the back concave curved edge is proximate to the cuticle; and the wings straddle the sides of the finger.

Another possible embodiment of the invention could be combination of a fingernail guide and a grinding means comprising of a fingernail guide having a guide portion, a pair of trapezoidal-shaped wings, and a grip portion formed into a open ring shape; the guide portion having the front guide edge and a back concave curved edge; each of the trapezoidal-shaped wings attached to the guide portion between the front guide edge and a back concave curved edge, the wings further projecting downward from the guide portion; the grip portion being a circular plate perpendicularly attached to back concave curved edge and projecting upward and away from the guide portion; a grinding means comprising of a cutting bit powered by a powered rotary drill; wherein the fingernail guide is placed upon a finger to cover a portion of a polychromatic polymer manicured fingernail so that the front guide edge faces the tip of the nail, the back concave curved edge is proximate to the cuticle, and the wings straddle the sides of the finger, and the grinding means operates against both the fingernail and the front guide edge to create a new demarcation curve.

Another possible embodiment could be a methodology of operating a fingernail guide comprising of the following steps, providing an open-ring shaped fingernail guide having a guide portion, two trapezoidal-shaped wings attaching to the guide portion; the guide portion further providing a guide means for directing the movement of a grinding means; providing a grinding means for removing one or more portions of one or more polymer coatings from a fingernail; placing the fingernail guide upon the finger having a fingernail polychromatic manicure of two or more polymer coatings and a demarcation curve so that the wings straddle the finger to place the guide means facing the tip of the finger nail to denote the location of a new demarcation curve; and bringing the grinding means in contact with the front guide edge to guide the removal of portions of one or more polymer coatings to help form a new demarcation curve.

The above description sets forth, rather broadly, a summary of one embodiment of the present invention so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. Some of the embodiments of the present invention may not include all of the features or characteristics listed in the above summary. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is substantially a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is substantially a front elevation view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B substantially show the invention in a flattened or planar view with various outline shapes of the guide means.

FIG. 4 is substantially a perspective view of the kit form of the invention.

FIG. 5 is substantially a flowchart for a process of operating the invention.

FIG. 6 is substantially a perspective view of present invention located upon a finger.

FIG. 7 is substantially a perspective view of the present invention being held in place by the operator's fingers.

FIG. 8 is substantially a perspective view of the present invention being twisted in place by the operator's fingers.

FIG. 9 is substantially a perspective view showing the grinding means applied to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is substantially a perspective view showing the new demarcation curve groove and natural growth groove of the nail.

FIG. 11 is substantially a perspective view showing a first polymer coating filling in the naturally occurring groove.

FIG. 12 is substantially a perspective view showing second polymer coating being used to fill in the new demarcation curve groove.

DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

One possible embodiment of the present invention 10 could comprise of a finger nail guide 20 and methodology for its use 200. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the guide 20 could comprise of a body 22 compromising of a guide portion 30, a pair of trapezoidal-shaped wings 50, and a grip portion 60. The guide portion 30 could have a front guide edge 32 and a back concave curved edge 34 wherein the side ends 36 formed by front guide edge 32 and the back concave curved edge 34 coming towards one another are generally curved downwards and towards one another to substantially form the body 22 as open-ring shape further generally denoting a hollow, double-open ended passage. The front guide edge 32 could be a guide means 38 against which a grinding means 290 (e.g., a grind bit 300, sanding drum [not shown] and the like powered by a powered rotary drill 302 as substantially shown in FIG. 9) is pressed against to generally guide the grinding mean's movement upon the nail 402 in removing portions of the previously applied polymer coats to re-establish the demarcation curve 404 upon the nail 402. The back concave curved edge 32 substantially accommodates the curve presented by the flesh of the client's finger 400 (to which the guide 20 is being applied) proximate to the cuticle and first knuckle.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 3A, 3B, the front guide edge 32 in other embodiments of the invention 10 that could have a wide variety of shapes could be imparted to the front guide edge 32, including non-curved shapes, (e.g., straight-edge, a pointed-edge, concave-edge, and the alike) as needed or otherwise required by the artistry of the manicure, and still be considered part of the invention 10. The shape of demarcation curve 404 to be re-established on the client's nail 402 is determined by the selected shape of the front guide edge 32.

The guide portion 30 could further feature a pair of triangular-shaped cutouts 40 to allow the operator to see where the location of the cuticle 406 when the guide 20 is placed upon the finger 400 and cuticle 406 would otherwise be covered-up by the guide 20 (as substantially shown in FIG. 6). At least one cutout 40 could be placed on each respective side of the guide portion 30. The placement of the cutouts 40 could form a center line post 42 that could further be humped to further allow the guide 20 to accommodate the difference in heights between the nail 402 and the cuticle/fleshy portion of the finger 400.

Each of the pair of the trapezoidal-shaped wings 50 could have a narrow end 52 and a wide end 54. The narrow end 52 could be used to attach the wing 50 to a respective side ends 36 of the guide portion 30 and then wing 50 could descend downwards and away from the guide portion 30. The wings 50 could generally have an outwardly curved orientation generally contributing to the open-ring shape of the guide 20. The wide ends 54 could generally be flared upward, generally towards the guide portion 30 for each to substantially form a saddle means 56 to generally receive and at least partially encapsulate a portion of an operator's finger 502. In this manner, (as substantially shown in FIG. 7) once the guide 20 is placed upon the client's finger 400 and the wings 50 are substantially straddling the sides of the finger 402, the operator, places at least two of its fingers 402 (e.g., a finger and a thumb) against the wings 50 to respectively engage the upwardly-flared or curved wide end 54. In putting pressure down against the wide ends 54 and pinching the wings 50 together and against the client's finger 400 to be manicured, the operator 500 can securely locate and hold the guide 20 in place upon the finger 400 to be manicured. To further assist in the placement of the guide 20 upon the finger 400 to be manicured, the wings 50 could further have a roughen surface 58 (e.g., indentations such as stippling, raised bars, and the like) to provide greater friction that allows the operator's fingers 502 to better grasp the wings 50 during operation.

The grip portion 60 could be a circular plate 62 perpendicularly attached to the curved concave back edge and to generally project itself upwards and away from the guide portion. The grip portion 60 could further feature a roughened surface 64 (indentations such as raised stippling, bars, and the like) to allow the operator 500 to better grasp the grip portion 60 during operation. The grip portion 60 could be grasped by the operator 500 (as substantially shown in FIG. 8) and twisted to further rotate the guide 20 in proper orientation upon the client's finger 400 and its nail 402.

The fingernail guide 20 could be made from resilient material, such as steel, whose selected qualities could allow the nail guide 20 to substantially resist the operation of grinding bit 300 driven by a powered rotary drill 302 being moved against its front guide edge 30. In this manner, the general outline of the nail guide could be punched from sheet of steel and then formed accordingly into its desired shape.

As substantially shown in FIG. 4, another embodiment of the invention 20, because individuals have different sized and shaped fingers with correspondingly different sized and shaped nails, could be a form of a nail guide kit 600 having a set of different sized and shaped nail guides 20. The kit 600 could feature container 602 with a clear, top lid 604 (featuring suitable indicia) movably attached to a side of a compartment 606. The compartment 606 could display and reversibly hold in place the set of nail guides 20 in order by size.

Methodology

As substantially shown in FIG. 5 is a methodology or process 200 of operating or using the nail guide 20 could start with step 202, selection of manicure and guide. In this step 202, the manicure technician, in discussing various manicure options with the client, could decide what kind of manicure to apply to the client's fingers. If selection is for a pre-applied polychromatic manicure using polymer coatings, then the manicure technician could select the nail guide(s), rotary bit, rotary tools, polymer nail colors and other suitable manicure implements. The technician could select the nail guide 20 according to shape of the front guide edge 32 (e.g., giving the shape to the new demarcation curve that will be re-established on the client's finger) as well as the size and shape of the client's finger/fingernail. The technician could select and otherwise identify those nail guides 20 that would be used other fingers 400 of the client. After step 202 is substantially completed, the process 200 could proceed upon step 204, applying nail guide to client finger.

As substantially shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, step 204, applying the nail guide to the client's finger, could involve the operator or manicure technician 500 gently grasping the guide 20 by its wings 50 (and/or the grip portion 60) and place the guide 20 upon the desired finger 400 of the client so that guide portion 30 covers a portion of the polychromatic manicured nail 402 and straddles the finger 400 with the trapezoidal-shaped wings 50. In this manner, the front guide edge 32 should be facing the tip of the nail 402 while the back concave curved edge 34 is facing the first knuckle. The humped center line post 42, when nail guide 20 is properly positioned upon the client's finger 400, generally accommodates the difference in height between the nail 402 and the cuticle/fleshy portion of the finger 400.

After initially securing the nail guide 20 to client's finger/nail by pressing together the wings 50 together to straddle and engage the finger 400 and pressing downward on the upward curved wide ends 54 of the wings 50, the operator 500 can further orient the nail guide 20 by grasping (e.g., with the fingers 502 of it's free hand) the grip portion 60 and twisting it as required to rotate the nail guide 20 to correctly place front guide edge 32 relative to the location and orientation of the cuticle 406 (as seen through the cutouts 40). Once properly oriented and positioned on the nail/finger, the operator 500 can firmly squeeze the wings 50 together and downward (engaging the saddle means 65) to reversibly secure the nail guide 20 to the client's finger 400 in the desired orientation and placement. At the substantial completion of step 204, the process 200 could proceed to step 206, the application of the grinding means to the guide.

In step 206, application of the grinding means to the nail guide, as substantially shown in FIG. 9, the operator/manicure technician could operate the grinding means 290 (e.g., a powered rotary drill 310 with cutting bit 300 or sander drum bit) and bring the top edge of the bit 300 up to and against the front guide edge 32. By making contact with the polymer coated nail 402 and moving the grinding bit 300 back and forth from one end of the front guide edge 32 to the other, the operator can remove the old demarcation edge (established between the previously-applied plurality of polymer color coatings) from the nail 402. The guide portion 30 and wings 50 generally protect the covered portions of the nail 402 and the fleshy portions of the straddled finger 402 from unwanted cutting activity of the grinding means 290.

As substantially shown in FIG. 10, after removing one or more portions of the previously-applied polymer nail coatings to establish the new demarcation curve groove 406, the manicure technician can power down and set aside the grinding means 290 and remove the nail guide 20 from the finger 400. After substantially completing this step, the process 200 can move onto decision 208, whether or not apply guide other fingers.

At decision 208, whether or not apply guide other fingers, the operator decides whether to go back to step 204 to apply a selected nail guide 20 for another respective finger 400 or to go onto step 210, apply new polymer coating, if all, of desired fingers 400 of the client have been given respective new demarcation curves 404.

At step 210, apply new polymer coating, as substantially shown in FIG. 11, the manicure technician or operator may select a first color polymer coating(s) 408 for filling the naturally occurring groove 405 next to the cuticle 406 created by nail growth. The operator then may fill in the groove 405 with this additional polymer coating(s) 408 using a brush.

As substantially shown in FIG. 12, the nail technician then selects a second color polymer coating 409 to the fill in the demarcation curve groove 407. The operator then may fill in the groove 407 with the second polymer coating 409 using a brush. The operator then can polish the new and established polymer coatings and/or may apply a clear polymer coating over the entire nail. At the substantial completion of this step 210, the process 200 can go back to step 202 for providing another polychromatic, polymer coating manicure.

CONCLUSION

Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples given.

As shown above, the invention can be a cost-effective means to re-establish a manicure demarcation curve of a polychromatic manicure that is advanced out of its original position by new nail growth without grinding down all the polymer coatings previously laid down in the original manicure. 

1. A fingernail guide for guiding the removal of a portion of one or more polymer coatings placed upon a fingernail comprising of: (A) a body having a guide portion, a pair of trapezoidal-shaped wings, and a grip portion; the guide portion and wings further formed into a open-ring shape; (B) the guide portion having a front guide edge and a back concave curved edge, the two edges meeting one another to respectively form two side ends; (C) each of the trapezoidal-shaped wings having a wide end and narrow end, the narrow end being attached to respective side end, the wings further projecting downward from the guide portion; (D) the grip portion being a circular plate perpendicularly attached to back concave curved edge and projecting upward and away from the guide portion; wherein when the fingernail guide is placed upon a finger to cover a portion of a polychromatic, polymer-coated manicured fingernail, the front guide edge faces the tip of the nail; the back concave curved edge is proximate to the cuticle; and the wings straddle the sides of the finger.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the body further features a set of cutouts that allow an operator of the fingernail guide to look through fingernail guide to observe the location of the cuticle of the finger relative to the placement of the front guide edge upon the manicured fingernail.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cutouts further define a centerline post that is humped to allow the fingernail guide to accommodate difference in height between the nail and fleshy portion of the finger proximate to the cuticle.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the grip portion allows an operator to rotate the fingernail guide upon the finger to properly align the fingernail guide upon the finger.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the front guide edge provides a guide means against which a rotating grinding bit is moved for the controlled removal of a portion of at least one polymer coating from the fingernail.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the controlled removal of a portion of at least one polymer coating creates a demarcation curve groove.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the demarcation curve groove is used re-establish a new demarcation curve for an existing polymer covering manicure on the fingernail.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the wide end is flared upward to form a saddle means that retains a portion of an operator's finger.
 9. A combination of a fingernail guide and a grinding means comprising of: (A) a fingernail guide having a guide portion, a pair of trapezoidal-shaped wings, and a grip portion, the guide portion and wings formed into a open-ring shape; (B) the guide portion having the front guide edge and a back concave curved edge; (C) each of the trapezoidal-shaped wings respectively attached to the guide portion between the front guide edge and a back concave curved edge, the wings further projecting downward from the guide portion; (D) the grip portion being a circular plate perpendicularly attached to back concave curved edge and projecting upward and away from the guide portion; (E) a grinding means for removing a portion of a polymer coating from a fingernail; wherein the fingernail guide is placed upon a finger to cover a portion of a polychromatic polymer-coated manicured fingernail so that the front guide edge faces the tip of the nail, the back concave curved edge is proximate to the cuticle, and the wings straddle the sides of the finger, and the grinding means operates against both the fingernail and the front guide edge to create a demarcation curve groove.
 10. The combination of claim 9 wherein the body further features a set of cutouts, which allow an operator of the nail guide to look through the cutouts to observe the location of the cuticle of the finger relative to the placement of the front guide edge upon the fingernail.
 11. The combination of claim 9 wherein the wings respectively flare upward to form saddle means into which portions of an operator's fingers may be partially encapsulated when squeezing the wings against the finger upon which the fingernail guide rests.
 12. The combination of claim 9 wherein the guide means may have variety of different shapes to correspondingly create a new demarcation curve with a variety of different shapes.
 13. The combination of claim 9 wherein the front guide edge further provides a guide means against which grinding means is moved against to create a demarcation curve groove upon the fingernail.
 14. The combination of claim 9 wherein the grip portion rotates the fingernail guide about the fingernail.
 15. A methodology of operating a fingernail guide comprising of the following steps, but not necessarily in the order shown: (A) providing an fingernail guide having a body with two wings attaching to the guide portion and extending downward to form a open-ring form, a grip portion attached to the guide portion and extending upward; the guide portion further providing a guide means for directing the movement of a grinding means; (B) providing a grinding means for removing one or more portions of one or more polymer coatings from a fingernail; (C) placing the fingernail guide upon the finger having polychromatic, polymer coated, manicured fingernail with a demarcation curve that has moved from its original position due to normal nail growth; and (D) bringing the grinding means in contact with the front guide edge to guide the removal of portions of one or more polymer coatings to create a demarcation curve groove used to form a new demarcation curve.
 16. The process of claim 15 further comprising a step of twisting the grip portion to rotate a guide means into desired orientation upon the fingernail.
 17. The process of claim 15 further comprising a step of adding polymer coating onto the demarcation groove to establish a new demarcation curve.
 18. The process of claim 15 further comprising of the step of adding a polymer coating onto the fingernail portion created by new growth.
 19. The process of claim 15 further comprising of the step of partially encapsulating a portion of the operator's fingers in the wings.
 20. The process of claim 15 wherein the guide portion further includes cutouts to allow the operator to observe the location of the fingernail guide relative to cuticle of the finger that is otherwise covered by the fingernail guide. 